Unwrapped: An Appalachian Mountain Christmas Mystery
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“This is Lynda McDaniel's best book ever! I thoroughly inhabited it…these folks have become so precious to me.”
Laurel Falls, N.C., Christmas 2012: The walnut dresser I bought my son sure brought a load of trouble. Not because one of the drawers kept sticking and the whole thing needed so much refinishing. No, I could handle that, what with being a woodworker most of my life. It was the diary hidden in a secret compartment for almost sixty year that turned everything upside down.
That diary was filled with stories of mistreatment and misfortune, stories that twisted up something inside of me. Especially because the teenage girl who wrote them stopped writing mid-sentence. Like someone grabbed her and took her away. Or killed her to keep secret what she’d written.
I just had to find out what happened to her. I knew what a lousy upbringing looked like, but even mine couldn’t compare with what she'd faced. I needed to know she'd made it through, like I had.
The timing, though, couldn’t have been worse: Christmastime and I had the boys that year. I was set on making it the best one yet, but with mean threats and truck chases and family feuds raining down on us, it was hard to squeeze in very much ho-ho-ho. And yet we did, sharing old memories and making new ones.
Della Kincaid stepped in, helping with our holiday celebrations and looking into that poor girl's whereabouts. Together we traveled through the mountains of North Carolina and up into Virginia, witnessing things I never wanted to see again while treasuring the everlasting beauty of the natural landscape. ~Abit Bradshaw
You'll enjoy this suspenseful Christmas mystery because who doesn't hope someone would care if they disappeared?
If you love Jacqueline Winspear, Sue Grafton, and Cheryl Bradshaw (no relation to Abit Bradshaw that we know of), you're sure to enjoy the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series.
Get it now—for the rich natural setting, colorful characters, and suspenseful investigations.
Unwrapped is the seventh book in the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series and a standalone novel. The books in this series may be read in any order.
Look for the latest book in the Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series, After Dusk, coming soon!
Interview with the Author
Q: Where does this seventh book pick up in the lives of Abit Bradshaw and Della Kincaid?
A: It's three years after Abit and Della helped a man reclaim his identity in Up the Creek. Abit is feeling more content with his lot in life, doing his woodworking and enjoying the nature that surrounds him on his farm. Della, on the other hand, is feeling unsettled, bored even, with her life at Coburn’s General Store.
Q: What's new in the series?
A: Abit’s mission involves discovering who wrote the 60-year-old diary he discovered in a piece of furniture he’s refinishing. He feels a strong connection with her difficult childhood. The entries are disturbing, and he has a strong need to make sure the young writer is okay all these years later.
Q: Why should readers give this series a try?
A: Because these are serious mysteries without over-the-top violence. And readers tell me the character development makes them eager to read more: "A pair of unforgettable crime-solving characters," one reader shared, and another wrote, "I became intrigued by and attached to the characters – Della, Abit, Alex, even the dog, Jake – and their dialogue."
Q: In what order was this series written?
A: Unwrapped, like all the books in the series, is a standalone, so readers won't be confused if they start with this book. The other books (in order written) include: A Life for a Life, The Roads to Damascus, Welcome the Little Children, Murder Ballad Blues, Deep in the Forest, Up the Creek, and After Dusk. Waiting for You is a free prequel novelette.
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I love writing page-turners—both fiction and non-fiction. And I love helping others to do the same, living into their dreams of writing books. I believe my success comes down to a respect for my readers and clients. I know I'm easily bored, so I work hard to engage and inspire both audiences.
I got my start as a writer in the most unlikely place—a town of 200 people in the mountains of North Carolina. Living there changed my life in so many positive ways. Decades later, I realized that everything I value today, I was introduced to there. My Appalachian Mountain Mysteries—"A Life for a Life," "The Roads to Damascus," "Welcome the Little Children," “Murder Ballad Blues,” “Deep in the Forest,” and Up the Creek”—pay homage to the people of Appalachia who taught me so much.
Over the years, I've written more than 1,200 articles for major magazines, hundreds of newsletters and blogs. I'm proudest of the 18 books I’ve written. My nonfiction books include "Words at Work," which I wrote straight from my heart, a much-needed response to all the questions and concerns people have about writing today. (It won top honors from the National Best Books Awards.)
I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, but I've lived all over this country—from the Midwest to the Deep South to Appalachia to the Mid-Atlantic to the Pacific Northwest. Whew! I finally settled in Eureka, California, a place that reflects the values I learned while living in the N.C. mountains all those years ago.
